Best Parks & Gardens in Portland to Visit

If you want to take a pleasant stroll around some beautiful landscapes, here are some lovely parks that you can visit:

Washington Park – The Washington Park is one of the most visited places in Portland. Here you will find the famous international rose test garden, museums, and a zoo.

The Washington Park was a piece of land that was first purchased by Portland City in the year 1871. You can find it near the city center on the west side.

If you are also wondering about the Rose Test Garden, this is where you can find a wide variety of roses. Since the city has been known for its warm but chilly climate, roses can continue to flower through autumn. You also may go to the Rose Festival in May or June.

Inside the Washington Park, you can also find the Portland Japanese Garden, which is one of the most extensive gardens located outside of Japan. It is also landscaped around the zoo.

Other popular tourist attractions that you can visit inside the park are the Portland children’s museum and the Hoyt Arboretum.

Waterfront Park – The water-front park can be found on the west bank of the Willamette. The riverfront trails and the parklands start to the north of the Portland Steel Bridge. It continues down south along the river and goes through Skidmore Fountain where you can find a beautiful weekend market.

If you want to explore more areas near the park, you can also find the Oregon Maritime Museum, which is located at the Sternwheeler Portland. You can also find cruises that offer dinner along the waterway.

Lan Su Garden – The Lan Su Garden was opened in 2000 to give to honor the rich history of Chinese culture, after the city developed a close tie with its sister city in Suzhou, China.

The garden has a tranquil environment of blended rocks, trees, plants, gardens and a lake. The lake is about 40,000 square feet, which is considered a block of land in the central part of Portland.

Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden – The crystal springs garden are located beyond the Pacific Northwest rhododendrons. Inside this garden, you can find Japanese maples, dogwood, azaleas, and magnolias on approximately ten acres of land.

While most people will go to visit this garden because of the spring blossoms and its many beautiful colors, there are also others that you can visit. You can also find waterfalls, and ponds along with many coniferous trees. In the wintertime, the admission to enter the garden is free, which becomes a quiet place to spend some time in.

Best Museums & Historical sites to visit in Portland

Here are some of our top Portland museums:

Oregon Museum of science and industry – The Oregon museum is another popular tourist attraction. Inside the museum, you can find a theater with a forty-story screen, a US Navy submarine, a planetarium, an educational learning exhibit for children, and an interactive display for all ages.

Some of the fields that they cover inside the museum include energy, health, the environment, chemistry, technology, and engineering.

You can also find the USS BLUEBACK, which you can see just outside the museum. It is a non-nuclear submarine that has been in use for over 30 years. The submarine was also featured in the movie Hunt for Red October. If you want to grab a glimpse of the submarine, you can climb aboard for a guided tour.

Pittock Mansion – The Pittock mansion can be found just west of downtown Portland. Henry Pittock built this fabulous estate in the year 1914. He is the founder of the Oregonian newspaper. Pittock lived in his mansion for five years until he died in 1919 at the age of 80.

The house was supposed to be for demolition in the 1960’s, but the community was able to persuade the city of Portland to purchase the mansion and be used as a tourist attraction.

Through a private fundraising event, the city was able to restore it back to its full glory. Now visitors can have the chance to tour this home up to this day. The Pittock Mansion has had a lot of impressive features, which include the central vacuum system, indirect lighting, and intercoms.

Back in the day, the house was known for its impressive gardens. Plus, the house is midway between the Washington Park, Forest Park, and Hoyt Arboretum.

Fort Vancouver national historic site – The Hudson Bay Company established this historical Vancouver fort as a fur trading post and supply depot. The fort is located across the Colombian river and is on the border of Washington state.

They reconstructed the fort and made it a tourist attraction, to be able to tell the history of the early local area settlement. You can also find some historic homes and the Pearson air museum.

Best tours to try in Portland

If you want to try out the tours in Portland, here are some of our best recommendations:

Portland walking tour – If you are an eager visitor, who is looking to explore every inch of the city in depth, the Portland walking tour will be your best tour choice. They offer a broad selection of bipedal expeditions that are designed to keep you entertained.

You will be able to experience different restaurants, locally sourced snacks, and excursions that will make you admire the city even more. They will also take you to all the best architectural and artistic attractions, which makes this tour group one of the best choices.

Forktown Food tours – Are you a foodie? Do you like tasting new food? Then joining this tour group will be a dream come true. The forktown food tours bring participants to different restaurants where they can eat all the best burgers, freshly baked pastries, and other treats all over the city.

You will be able to experience new and unique flavors that can be found in four well-known restaurant districts. These are located in the Pearl District, Mississippi Avenue, downtown Portland and northwest Portland.

These areas are filled with all kinds of different restaurants and different cuisines ranging from Asian fusion, Italian cuisine, and many others.

Third wave coffee tours – Similar to forktown food tours, the third wave coffee tour is the perfect choice for coffee lovers. Participants are brought to seven micro roasteries that have complimentary cuppings using their streetcar- based itineraries.

They also have a 5-mile walking tour or even a running excursion. You will be able to experience great coffee, yummy eats, and a deep dive into the city’s coffee artisan.

Try out these spots for yourself and tell us what you think

Portland indeed is a one of a kind city that is worth going to.

There are many tourist attractions, many activities to do with family and so much food. All the places we have mentioned above are some of our top recommendations.

You can also try out the tours we have referred to above if you are not too keen on exploring the city on your own. We can guarantee that all the places we mentioned are the best in the town.